Tempo

Overview

The first Tempo was built in Hamburg in 1927. The car looked like a motorised trade bike, with a single rear and two front wheels. The rear wheel was powered by a 200 cc motorcycle engine. In 1933, a new model was unveiled which had two rear wheels and a longer single front wheel. The driver no longer had to sit out in the cold.

The car had front-wheel drive, but a motorcycle engine was once again used. The Tempo, originally designed as a delivery van, could be supplied with various bodies. The company did well.

As early as 1934, the 10,000th Tempo rolled off the assembly line. By then, the company had also started manufacturing four-wheeled cars. Off-road vehicles with two engines and four-wheel drive were built especially for the Wehrmacht. However, the three-wheelers made the most profit. They were even used to break records. In 1934, a Tempo broke the speed record for 1,000 km with an average speed of 34 mph (54.1 kph).